Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Craig’s tubes have
been tied this week, meaning that you stoic Audiosurfers are going to have to
put up with a shortish post by me instead of tracking his slow descent into
techno-induced madness. Don’t worry – he’ll be back next week.

Because we haven’t in awhile, let me recap Audiosurf for all
of the non-gamers and
gamers-who-haven’t-ever-heard-of-Audiosurf-for-some-reason in our
audience: Audiosurf will take any song on your computer and turn it
into a shiny rollercoaster track– this track has physical peaks and valleys
based on the way your song sounds, its tempo, where the instruments are in the
mix, and so on.

Along this track are myriad colored blocks, each worth a different number of
points based on their rarity – blue and purple blocks are worth fewer points but
are more plentiful, while yellow and red blocks are more scarce but net larger
payoffs. You steer your vehicle over the blocks as the song plays, and the more
blocks of the same color you pick up and match, the more points you get. For the
casual player, Audiosurf serves as a trippy interactive equalizer. For
the die-hard, it can be a breakneck ride that leaves your vision blurred and
your palms sweaty. It’s whatever you make of it, really.

Each week, the game’s purveyors hand-pick three or four tracks to serve up to
players via the game’s built-in “Audiosurf Radio” – hence, this
feature, where we dissect each song to tell you where to find the best rides.
Still with me? Good! Onward!

This week’s three Radio tracks all come courtesy of trance artist Jonathan
Araldi, who has a super-French Jamendo page you can check out if you’re into
it.

Transmission

If someone asked me “have you heard ‘Transmission’ by Jonathan Araldi?” I
would be all like “oh yeah, it’s the boss fight music punctuated by super
earnest new-age piano riffs.”

Ominous uphill climbs beget relentlessly in-your-face downhill rushes – you
can barely see three blocks ahead because the traffic is all rushing straight at
your face. Like a lot of trance music, it’s not bad to listen to, especially
when it’s playing in the background, but it doesn’t really stick with you after
you’re done listening to it. Someone’s playing some new-age piano riffs pretty
earnestly. Only vigilant players will get the Clean Finish bonus when they
play this song – it ends right at the bottom of a
harsh slope.

Purity Nation

First, first, I wouldn’t name a song “Purity Nation.” It just
doesn’t seem like a prudent phrase.

This track makes heavy use of the omnipresent “uhn-tss uhn-tss uhn-tss”
thumping endemic to techo music, which makes the track undulate like a shaken
beach towel. This rhythm defines the first third or so of the song. The rest of
it, as you can see below, is more downhill insanity, punctuated by tiny uphill
portions that give you just enough time to wonder “what the hell just
happened?”

Sky Blue Deep and Sun Orange

This one starts promisingly, with a jaunty beat that is appreciably different
from the rides that the other Araldi pieces offer. A couple of minutes in,
though, comes that long, uphill curve you see above. This section of track is
virtually bereft of blocks, and it neatly sucks the momentum out of the
ride.

The rest of the song is another breakneck downhill tumble, but without the
reprieves occasionally offered by “Transmission” and “Purity Nation.” The trance
music is a double-edged sword – on the one hand, I thought that I was bored by
the constant, unchanging barrage of 32nd notes, but on the other hand, I was
genuinely surprised when the song ended. I must have fallen into quite the
trance!